I Have Become The Heroes’ Rival

Recognizing his intense desires, Felix flinched and tightly squeezed his fist.

“Oh, my God. There’s so much blood……. Not all of this is Felix’s blood, is it?”

“…….”

Receiving no response, Irene suddenly approached him without warning. And as she neared, Felix backed away.

It was the first time he had avoided her openly, so Irene was a little embarrassed.

It was Irene who always kept her distance like a wary cat, and Felix was the one who always gently coaxed and soothed her.

Besides, he hadn’t even said a word……. something was wrong.

Perhaps it was only Felix in appearance, and what was in front of her was actually the devil.

She watched Felix closely.

Although the face without glasses and the stiff expression were a little strange, he did not seem to be completely devoured by the devil as described in the novel.

‘Well, if that were the case, he would be a cold corpse by now.’

Fortunately, he seemed to be alive and well. Irene was relieved that her thought was only a ridiculous idea.

Her heart fluttered, and a fresh tender breath escaped from her triangular lips. Felix’s already clenched jaw became tenser, and veins sprang up on his white neckline.

‘I’m a rational man……. right?’

Now that she caught sight of it, not only his facial expressions but his eyes were also unfamiliar. Just a little – it didn’t seem normal. It was hazy and relaxed, but at the same time, strained.

In fact, anyone’s lives would be in danger if they shed so much blood. Of course, it seemed like he felt dizzy, but he could still stand.

Even up to this point, he was still struggling by himself.

‘I told you not to do that.’

Irene, likewise, slowly clenched her jaw after glancing at the back of his hand that had a thick streak of blood. She wanted to shout and ask him why he always carried the burden alone. However, she could not scold an injured person.

Instead, Irene spoke carefully, just as Felix once did to her. It was as if she was dealing with a wounded, vigilant wild animal.

“I don’t care how you have changed because of the devil’s relics. Because Felix is ​​Felix, so as I said before, even if you turn into a demon, I’ll hug you to hell.”

“…… ”

Felix’s intense gaze stuck to her like an arrow.

It was an unreadable gaze. The clear, transparent blue eyes, reminiscent of a lake, looked black and empty as if they were immersed in the deep sea.

Perhaps his eyes were like that because he was deeply wounded. In just a day, Felix looked quite haggard.

The pure white skin was pale, and the edges of his eyes were burning red. His darkened eyes somehow made him look more depraved.

Honestly, his appearance was so poor – it was unsettling.

‘But your eyes are really sharp.’

What Claudia said was not an exaggeration out of envy but a fact.

Irene carefully observed Felix’s appearance, whose round gold-rimmed glasses had disappeared. The limited image of tenderness she felt when he wore glasses vanished and looked rather cold.

That must have been why he desperately refused to take off his glasses.

She suddenly had that thought. But, she realized it wasn’t the time for this.

“I’m so glad that Felix came back safely.”

“…….”

“Just, as long as you’re okay. So don’t be afraid and come here.”

‘

However, could she describe him as ‘okay’?

She didn’t expect him to get hurt this much, but those bastards…….

Irene stretched out her hand again, looking sadly at Felix, who was in a mess like a man soaked in blood.

Felix stepped back. It also looked like he turned his head to the side again as if he was looking away. He did that a couple of times already.

“……why do you keep avoiding me?”

Irene, who had been silent for a while, asked in a tone of disappointment. Of course, she fully understood that he didn’t want to show his injuries in such a mess.

‘But, why do you keep avoiding me?!!’

“If you’re hurt, you need treatment.”

“…..I’ll.”

Then Felix spoke for the first time. It was a chilling, low-pitched voice that seemed to scratch the floor.

“I’ll take care of it myself.”

Irene was struck hard by those words.

What was this incredible distance she suddenly felt? He used to ask her to treat him in a gentle voice while attacking her with his eyes. That was just two days ago!

“If Felix was in a state where he could treat himself, I believe he would have done so already.”

Since everyone would be worried if they saw the wound, he would have certainly done so.

Felix, who was sharply criticized, blatantly changed the topic.

“You must be tired. I’m sorry I woke you up. Go back to sleep.”

“Are you really saying that? Would you be able to sleep in this situation?”

“Don’t sleep here alone and go to Chloe. Let’s talk about it tomorrow.”

Irene had a thought. It was like a pet dog suddenly abandoned by its owner. What more, she was confused about why she, a human being, should feel this way.

It was too unreasonable to tame the feeling and shove it away.

Go and sleep in front of an injured person.

It was not too long ago when she had offered her lap as pillows and put him to sleep, but she didn’t know why he felt so cold.

Irene asked in a voice mixed with worry and disappointment.

“Can’t you let me take care of you?”

“…….”

Felix again frowned, his eyes filled with pain. In an instant, the sound of his breath became rough.

Raw, intense emotions flashed through his eyes, undisguised. Unable to conceal the fierce momentum that seemed to burn his retina, he tightly closed his eyes and said, as if it was the ultimate limit.

“Irene.”

“Yes.”

“Go. Please do me a favor.”

“……!”

Felix told her to go.

The instant she heard it, Irene felt a tingling shock as if she had hit on the back of her head. She was unable to return to her senses for a while.

She was reluctant to shed tears, but she wondered if it was because of the disappointment.

Of course, she understood. She fully understood that Felix was now in a different state.

Currently, Felix was practically saying to her: ‘I’m afraid I’ll hurt Irene, so I’ll leave and go somewhere far away’. It was the situation that Felix had been hinting about all along.

Felix would rather hurt himself than hurt someone precious. She had always been by his side, so it was only natural for her to know what he was thinking.

Yes, she knew everything.

She didn’t really expect him to push her away without mercy. Although she tried to understand it in her mind, the mental blow seemed to be quite severe.

The shock was more pronounced because he was a friendly and kind person who she always relied upon.

But even at times like this, he refused to rely on her. When she was having a hard time, he would comfort her. However, when he was in a similar situation, he wouldn’t even allow her to stay by his side.

“Well, then I’ll get the family doctor. That’s fine, right?”

“Yes. Thank you.”

Felix replied with a faint, picturesque smile,

His appearance seemed so exhausted, so Irene had no choice but to step down.

“……Don’t worry. I won’t wake anyone up yet. Well then, hide well.”

With those words, she left to call the Chamberlain family doctor.

Felix sighed as soon as Irene left the same space.

He sat against the wall as if he were falling apart.

“Ha……”

At the same time, the power of the devil, who was watching silently, asked suspiciously.

–You’re not human either, are you?

“Please stop treating humans like animals.”

The power of the devil was drawing Leraze’s power and constantly stimulating lust in Felix.

Usually, humans jump without hesitation just by a slight touch.

–In my life of thousands of years, I’ve never seen a human like you. To be able to resist the temptation of the devil. No matter how much I’m not a complete devil…….

“This is a given. Stop asking me to do disgusting things.”

Disgusting?! There was no desire as natural and human as sexual desire!

The power of the devil, who had his own existence denied, was emotional and enraged.

–You’re a virgin, aren’t you?

“Yes.”

–…….

He sounded so dignified that the power of the devil was rendered speechless.

–What are you bragging about?

It was not something that experienced people needed to boast of. Neither was it something to be ashamed of. It was just about every individual’s personal values.

That was what Felix believed, but it was too cumbersome to explain it to the devil.

When Felix didn’t respond, the power of the devil thought he caught Felix and wanted to tease him. However, he suddenly recalled Felix’s face.

Inflexible beliefs were also beliefs, but it was the face that made him doubt whether he was really human.

Leraze, who was in charge of love and pleasure, was among the most beautiful of devils. It was so he could dazzle humans who were weak to beautiful things.

Even Leraze wanted to covet such a gorgeous, elegant beauty like Felix.

Felix’s body was so perfect that he wanted to take it away without a scratch.

If one didn’t have experience even with that face, it wasn’t because they couldn’t do it, but rather, they didn’t. It meant that provocations would not work on the human and would not deal any blows¹.

The power of the devil quickly changed the direction of attack and whispered again.

–Well, it’s okay to be a virgin. It doesn’t matter if there’s a little bit of trivial human experience. I’m here! The power of Leraze, the devil of love and pleasure.

“I don’t need it.”

–Listen till the end, you cheeky bastard. Although I’ve only been created for thousands of years, hundreds of billions of years of techniques have been passed down from my main body, Leraze!

“It’s better if we get along with each other. In the first place, I never do anything without the other person’s consent. I don’t know why I have to discuss this with you, but you better give up.”

–No! Do you think this body’s going to give up here? You have to agree! Use that face and get it! Seduce! Seduce her and make her fall in love!

‘How bothersome…….’

Felix genuinely thought so.

“You said you’re the devil of love and pleasure, but you’re ruining true love.”

–True love comes from a physical relationship.

“…….”

Felix cast a look as if he was seeing rubbish.

The power of the devil in his body could not see the gaze directly, but in the silence, he could feel the contempt aimed at him.

At the same time, he felt a strong presentiment that he should speak no further.

T/N: I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and didn’t find the narration too confusing! (There’s a lot of back and forth thoughts between Irene/Felix and the devil). Also, I’m so glad Felix has ‘returned’. Well then, have a lovely week everyone!!

^{1. To “deal a blow” means to harm, upset, or shock someone or something (normally figuratively). ↩}